Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Shares Sold by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group lowered its holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 701 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at $114,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AIT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Applied Industrial Technologies from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $285.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Industrial Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Industrial Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $291.43.

Applied Industrial Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AIT opened at $269.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.08. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.68 and a 1 year high of $282.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $254.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.99.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.18. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.37% and a net margin of 8.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from Applied Industrial Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 18.64%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Industrial Technologies

In related news, Director Mary Dean Hall sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.08, for a total value of $605,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $952,326.96. This represents a 38.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Warren E. Hoffner III sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.64, for a total value of $1,126,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,689,882.76. This trade represents a 6.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Industrial Technologies Company Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates in two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Engineered Solutions. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment.